ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Quinn Warmuth knew he wanted to play college hockey since eighth grade.
Now, the 19-year-old defenseman is making that dream a reality with the Maryland Black Bears junior hockey team — the first North American Hockey League team in the state.
But first, Warmuth, an Olmstead, Ohio, native and the Black Bears’ captain, hopes to establish a winning culture at the Odenton-based team, helping plot a roadmap for future Maryland players to eventually play college hockey.
In April, the Black Bears became the 24th member of the Tier II junior hockey league, which features a highly competitive brand of hockey for 16- to 21-year-olds who aspire to play collegiately. The league has produced several National Hockey League All-Stars in its 42-year history, including Phil Kessel of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.
The Black Bears arrived at a critical time for local hockey. Youth hockey participation in Maryland has trended upward in the last three seasons, topping 10,000 players for the second consecutive year, according to USA Hockey. The team will fill the gap between youth hockey and the college ranks, providing local talent with the opportunity to play competitively close to home.
“We’re put in a unique (position) where we can dictate what the future holds for this place,” said Warmuth, the Black Bears’ team captain. “Kids now from Maryland can play hockey here. They’re never really going to have to leave home for the first time, which is really nice and a unique opportunity that they didn’t have before.”
In June, the Washington Capitals won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, which could further bolster participation, said Black Bears Head Coach and General Manager Clinton Mylymok. Mylymok called the timing of starting a junior hockey team the same year as the Capitals winning the Cup “the perfect storm.”
“When you win like that to create the buzz, it’s not just for us it’s for the sport in general,” Mylymok said. “You tend to see more people coming out to watch a game or also maybe learn to play the game.”
Kevin Erlenbach, the assistant executive director of membership at USA Hockey, said the growth in player registration — mainly among players ages 8 and younger — will continue in the DC metro area for several years.
“Especially the year after (a Cup win) you will see a surge in new players,” Erlenbach said. “That wave rides for a while because there’s a jump in retention because it’s a bigger pool.”
Mylymok and the players said the stands at home games — the team plays at Piney Orchard Arena, the Capital’s former practice center in Odenton — are filled with fans decked out in red, white and blue Caps gear.
“We’re hopefully filling the void for some people … it’s not the NHL but it’s really good hockey,” Mylymok said.
Friday night was no different, as about 300 fans crowded into the arena on Ugly Sweater Night to cheer on the Black Bears against Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights. Though the team looked sharp in their Maryland flag-bedazzled alternate uniforms, they fell 6-3, dropping to 7-13-3-2 and fourth place in the East Division.
“The fans have been great. We’re getting great turnouts,” Warmuth said. “I think if we start winning even more I think more people are gonna come. This being our first year we’re all pretty happy with the type of environment that we’re playing in.”
About halfway through their inaugural season, the Black Bears have hit a rough patch, losing four straight and eight of their last 10, but Mylymok’s mantra remains the same: play with desperation and intensity night-to-night.
“Win at all costs is great, but I like to win with the right people,” Mylymok said. “I like to develop kids and move them on. I like to develop them as people. I don’t want to sell my soul to win a championship.”
Since junior hockey is a preparatory league, rosters can see significant turnover year-to-year, which requires Mylymok to coach like it’s a Division I program, he said, holding workouts and film sessions to simulate what players will experience in college, and even throwing pop quizzes to test players’ knowledge.
“It forces you every day to make sure that you’re doing everything to make yourself (better),” Warmuth said. “Junior hockey is all about development so that when you get to the next level there are no surprises.”
Each Black Bears player is hosted by a local family — known as billets — which provide living accommodations, transportation and anything else players may need. In exchange, the families, who live in towns like Severn, Crownsville and Davidsonville, receive financial compensation from the team.
Mylymok called billets “the most important thing” outside of a strong ownership group to running a successful junior hockey team.
“These are young teenagers that need a comfortable place to be,” Mylymok said. “When you have a poor billet and you have distractions, it affects their play directly. Honestly, you can tell if the kid’s having a tough time at home or there’s an issue with their play.”
Warmuth is hosted by a family in Crofton. Forward and Chicago native Matteo Menotti, 19, stays in Annapolis, and winger Connor Pooley, 20, another Ohioan, stays in Ellicott City.
The trio described their billets as comfortable, living in nice houses and regularly taking part in downtime activities like yachting, attended sporting events and flying lessons.
While they’re here, Warmuth, Pooley and Menotti said they are focused on dominating, winning and, above all, having fun playing junior hockey.
“We get to chase our dreams,” Pooley said. “Where a lot of my buddies are headed off to school and they’re gonna be getting a job shortly. … For us, we get to live the dream for a little bit longer.”
Mylymok has compiled a diverse roster that includes players from 12 different states and others coming from as far away as South Korea, Great Britain and Germany. And while there isn’t a Maryland-based player on the roster, the goal is to bring local players into the fold, Mylymok said, with one caveat: “They have to be able to play.”
“I’ll take Maryland kids but they got to be the right ones,” Mylymok said. “I want the guys that represent Maryland in the right way to be here.”
In late November, the team took a step toward cultivating local talent by signing an 18-year-old goalie, Andrew Takacs, a native of Dunkirk, to a tender for the 2019-20 season.
Takacs previously played for a Black Bears affiliate, Team Maryland, and has already suited up for the junior hockey team this season, filling in as a backup for an injured goalie on a weekend road trip.
“With Andrew … we knew what we were getting in terms of character, off-ice work ethic, his maturity. He’s just a kid that represents the local area really well,” Mylymok said. “It was a no-brainer for us.”
Takacs said he was “beyond stoked” when he heard the Black Bears had tendered him.
“This is the perfect move for me in terms of next year (getting) the development to grow so that I can make it to the Division I level,” Takacs said.
Takacs attends Gilmour Academy in Ohio, where he will graduate in May. With the Black Bears in the area, Takacs will now have an opportunity to come back and represent his home state.
“Just to know that you are part of the movement towards making hockey a greater thing in Maryland is really special,” Takacs said. “Kids will even start believing ‘I don’t have to go somewhere else in the country so that I can play high-level hockey.’ … This is going to put Maryland hockey on the map.”
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